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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. band — a music group
  7. snap — to click
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pass — a permit
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. craft — a skill
  14. band — a ring
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. chair — a leader
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. craft — boats
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com